Zarnow: A garden to help children grow

Sue Pettinicchio, designer of the sensory garden for kids with special needs and special day class teacher at Commonwealth Elementary School, with autistic kids Huck Ruiz, left, and Brooklyn Arriola, both 4, at the school as Commonwealth Elementary gets ready for the garden's official opening on Oct. 10.STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER

First it takes root in the imagination of a special education teacher and her principal.

“I kept looking out my classroom window and seeing this empty strip of grass,” recalls Sue Pettinicchio, who teaches kindergarten at Commonwealth Elementary in Fullerton. “I thought: There has to be something better we can do with this.”

Then it's nurtured by a dedicated father who wants the best for his son with autism, his school and his community.

“I was looking for different ways to help Boyd,” Larry Houser says. In the process, he created a foundation and began to make things happen.

This garden is cultivated by volunteers, the school district and the local community. Together they raised more than $20,000 to fund the three-year effort to create a unique, sensory garden designed to teach children with special needs. More than 30 volunteers have invested 200 hours of labor.

Their efforts come to fruition Thursday when the garden has its grand opening.

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Sherry Hoyt was principal at Commonwealth when she hired Pettinicchio and asked her to design the garden.

Students with special needs can find it difficult to learn abstract concepts.

“We wanted the garden to help them access the same concepts as other students,” Pettinicchio said, “but in a hands-on way that gets their attention.”

The garden nurtures learning and social skills. Not an inch is wasted.

It starts with a little red schoolhouse scaled to kid size. The inside will offer hands-on, tactile experiences such as shaving cream or corn.

“Feelings for our fingers,” she noted in kindergarten-speak.

Pettinicchio envisions bird-nesting boxes between the house and the fence, so the children can observe the lifecycle through the windows. She will document each stage, create a book and revisit it often to help children retain the information.

Sue Pettinicchio, designer of the sensory garden for kids with special needs and special day class teacher at Commonwealth Elementary School, with autistic kids Huck Ruiz, left, and Brooklyn Arriola, both 4, at the school as Commonwealth Elementary gets ready for the garden's official opening on Oct. 10. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Sarah Vogel, instructional assistant at Commonwealth Elementary School, left, assists 4-year-old James Hatten and Eugene Madueno, 3, in watering flowers at the school's new sensory garden in Fullerton.STEVEN GEORGES, STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Four-year-old Yena Cho checks out a worm as she receives the tactile experience of touching wiggly things from the composting bin, part of Commonwealth Elementary School's new sensory garden. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Four-year-old Ethan Magbanua hand cranks a pump with water flowing down a water slide as he develops gross motor skills and learns cause and effect in Commonwealth Elementary School's new sensory garden. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Jeanette Lujan, a special day class teacher at Commonwealth Elementary School, assists 4-year-old Huck Ruiz in planting a tomato plant at the school's new sensory garden in Fullerton. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Five-year-old Isaiah Ilkhanoff enjoys a quiet moment reading on the porch of the Discovery House, part of Commonwealth Elementary School's new sensory garden. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Autistic kids Huck Ruiz, left, and Noah Jones, both 4, hold hands while walking back to class after spending time in Commonwealth Elementary School's new sensory garden. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Larry Houser, founder of Fullerton Cares Autism Coalition, with his 5-year-old son Boyd Houser in front of Commonwealth Elementary School's new sensory garden which was partially funded and built through the support of Fullerton Cares and its members.Boyd, who has autism himself, is a student in the school's special autism program. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Sye Carlson, instructional assistant at Commonwealth Elementary School, second from left, works with Daniel George, 4, left, Justin Gbondo, 5, and Adrian Cervantes, 4, as they make musical sounds with the pebble harp by dropping small rocks through the openings producing auditory feedback against the tilted wood at the Fullerton school's new sensory garden. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Four-year-old Daniel George, left, and Boyd Houser, 5, learn about composting at the new sensory garden at Commonwealth Elementary School as they feed the earthworms scraps from their lunches. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER

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